Lance Scott Walker with his friend Kiri Miller: ‘I don’t think he had anyone to look up to, and that was the problem’. Photo: Kiri Miller

A YOUTH who was stabbed to death in a care-leavers’ hostel was “let down by the system” according to one of his ­closest friends.

Lance Scott Walker, who grew up around Tufnell Park Road, spent time in Islington care homes until 2016 when the council placed him in a semi-­independent, unregulated hostel in Hayes, west London, aged 18.

The hostel was run by a now-­dissolved private accommodation company called Urban Youth Flex.

Lance, who attended St Joseph’s Primary School in Highgate Hill, was still under Islington’s care when he was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by Idris Hassan, another Urban Youth Flex hostel resident, shortly after the move.

Following a psychiatric assessment, Lance’s killer was found to have severe mental health problems. He denied murder, instead pleading guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, and was later sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.

An inquest into Lance’s death concluded on Monday, finding Islington Council failings had probably contributed to his death – with its decision to leave Lance with Urban Youth Flex described as “unsatisfactory”. Ealing Council was also criticised.

“I think Islington have really let him down,” said Kiri Miller, who also grew up in care around Holloway and was “best of friends” with Lance. “What happened was he was let down by the system. He said when he was alive he couldn’t understand why he was being moved, because he went around to many different places.

“I think putting him in placements like that didn’t help obviously because he was around the wrong kind of people, and there was no guidance for him. I don’t think he had anyone to look up to, and that was the problem.”

Ms Miller remembers her friend as someone who “had these future goals”. She added: “He would always say he had ambition for life. He used to say he didn’t want to end up going the wrong sort of way.”

Together, they would often visit Lance’s mother and grandfather, both of whom lived around Holloway. “He lived with his granddad for quite a long time and he always wanted to remain with his granddad,” Ms Miller said.

But she added that he was also “a troubled kid – growing up in care isn’t easy.”

Lance’s placement in the Hayes hostel was unregulated, meaning Islington Council did not have a contract with Urban Youth Flex detailing the hostel’s duties of care. The inquest heard that in the run-up to Lance’s death, Urban Youth Flex failed to inform Islington or Ealing Councils about several confrontations between Idris and Lance.

“A regulated placement would be somewhere where the people that are in control of these placements know what’s going on. I think that may be why what happened happened because they obviously didn’t know [what was going on],” Ms Miller said.

After Lance’s death, Ms Miller began volunteering with the Children’s Active Involvement Service in Islington, later becoming its chair. “I went round to hostels and I did interviews with young people to see what they would like [to change], what they would like more of, how safe they felt.

“There is a lot of work that Islington has put into this, I think probably because of what happened with Lance,” she said. “They were really trying to make amends.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “We were devastated by Lance’s murder by another resident in his supported accommodation.

“Our thoughts remain with his family, who we know have suffered ­greatly.

“After the terrible tragedy in 2016 we commissioned a thorough independent investigation of our role in this case and have put additional safeguards in place, above and beyond those required by law and best practice guidance. We will very carefully consider the inquest findings, learning all we can and making any changes we need to make children safer.

“We strongly support regulation of the supported accommodation sector, which is still not regulated, and have raised this in discussions with national government and Ofsted.

“There is also a national shortage of suitable placements of this kind for young people, which is an urgent national issue.”

An Ealing Council spokesperson said: “This tragic death remains deeply upsetting, and we again offer our sincere condolences to Lance’s family.

“Ealing understand the concerns expressed by the jury today, many of which were found also by Ealing’s Independent Safeguarding Adults Board when a management case review was held in 2018. Much scrutiny, challenge, learning has taken place following that review resulting in changes to local practice.

“We will very carefully consider the inquest findings and ensure that we continue to learn and change practice where needed.”